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Dear Sam: I am a registered nurse working in an emergency department. I have been
employed with the same hospital for the past four years and am looking for a change. I have
submitted several resumes to various hospitals, and I am not having any success. I have attached my
resume and would appreciate your expert opinion.
— Michelle

Dear Michelle: Thank you for writing to request a critique of your resume. I
definitely can provide insight into why your resume is not getting the attention you believe your
candidacy deserves. First, let me paint a picture of your resume for readers.

Your resume opens with your contact information, which immediately transitions into a
Work History section. In this section, you present your past three positions — since 2007 — that
spill onto page two. In this entire page of information, you have described your positions with a
total of 87 words. You listed five bullet points underneath each employer, with the bullet points
ranging from one to six words. To illustrate this for readers, one of the sections is listed
below:
_______________________

Following this, you present your education — and associate degree along with
certifications. You close your resume with “References upon request.”

I am happy you wrote, as your resume is a prime example of an underdeveloped
presentation of your candidacy. Let’s look at ways to improve your presentation.

It is imperative you open your resume with a Qualifications Summary to highlight the
key aspects of your candidacy. Why and how are you different from your qualified competitors? How
is your experience unique? Why should you be contacted for an interview?

If you leave the reader trying to figure out these things, you will never emerge
successful from the screening process. With resumes reviewed for an average of 4-7 seconds, the
reader does not have time to evaluate how your experience qualifies you and makes you stand out
from the crowd.

Next, you must tackle the lack of content in your resume. Describing almost seven
years of experience in just 87 words conveys little value. Within your very brief bullet points,
you communicate only the expected pieces of a nurse’s role. You must go further than this if you
want to differentiate your candidacy.

You do not get noticed by providing a hiring manager with a picture that says, “I can
do the basic job functions.” Instead, you get an interview by delivering a resume that says, “I can
perform the role while adding value beyond expectations.”

Show this by providing evidence of your past contributions, ways you have gone above
and beyond, how you are different from your peers as well as opportunities you may have had to
contribute beyond the scope of a traditional clinical role.

Your Education and Certifications sections are fine. I would simply note that you do
not need superfluous information in each section such as a complete address for an educational
institution. The highlights in those sections are your actual degree and your credentials, so draw
attention to those items with selective bold formatting.

Lastly, do not waste valuable resume real estate by noting that references are
available — that is assumed and does not need to be noted on paper.

I know you can have a great resume based on your experience, but you need to revamp
your approach, rehabilitate your content and renew your formatting. Best of luck to you.

I have presented an example of a nursing resume I wrote to spark your creativity.
View the resume on ladybug-design.com/blog.

Samantha Nolan is a certified professional résumé writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a leading
résumé-writing firm. Do you have a résumé or job-search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha
at
dearsam@ladybug-design.com. For
more about Sam’s résumé-writing services, visit
www.ladybug-design.com or call
(614) 570-3442 or 1-888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).